


Come Together

by Dorktapus42



Series: Come Together-verse [1]
Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Jacksepticeye and Egos, Markiplier and egos, Matpat (Game/Film Theory/GT Live), Thomas Sanders, natewantstobattle, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Angst. Lots of it, Deceit's backstory is revealed, Experimentation, God this took ages to tag, HE STOLE JR, JJ's a badass, Madpat's a jerk, Music mind control, Natemare's a jerk too, Other, Phantom broke a deal, Spacing's gonna be a bit off because this is too long for me to care, Spacing's probably gonna go to hell because this is long, anti's not that evil for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 21:23:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16003574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktapus42/pseuds/Dorktapus42
Summary: Two worlds collide. Will both parties make it out intact?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When you procrastinate on Physics homework to post fanfic.

Mark was staring into the mirror, looking back into the face that was, but was not, his own.

“Dark?” He croaked softly. _He’d just created him for a video, he’d just created him for a video…._

|Hello.| The face in the mirror shifted, a smug smirk appearing. |Surprised to see me?|

Mark jolted back, eyes wide. He banged straight into the towel rack and Dark started laughing.

Unbeknownst to him, there were more people in the same situation as him.

 

\-------

 

“A-Anti?!” The glitchy version of himself in the computer monitor smiled.

“M̵e̴.̸ ̷H̷i̴y̴a̵ ̸J̸a̷c̸k̶i̴e̴!̵”

 

\-------

 

“Augh! What the- you can’t be real! You’re characters!”

The two figures smiled in sync from the reflections on the windows, the gages in their ears reflecting the light from inside.

“Well aren’t we the people of your nightmares.”

“Your music reaches further than my deals ever could and you know it Nate.”

Well shit. The first reflection disappeared and he heard a crooning voice next to his ear.

“Well isn’t this quite a show.”

  


\--------

 

Thomas was recording a video when the figures appeared on the couch. He didn’t take notice of them at first as he recorded a take for a script.

“Well duh, that’s what we’re here for!” He hissed. That was bad.

“Not enough oomph!” Roman picked up a nearby script. “Maybe add more volume!”

“I do not understand theatre.”

“Wonderful job kiddo!”

“Well that could have gone better.”

“Completely flawless I assure you.~”

He screamed and almost fell over. “What the- holy shit?!”

“Language kiddo! I know I raised you to be better!” Patton lifted up a picture frame with a picture of Thomas in it with a smile barely containing his mirth.

“You didn’t raise him- why do you do this?”

“I love visual puns!”

“Patton-”

“They’re the cat’s meow!” He raised his hands like they were paws. Logan just screamed in frustration.

“What the fuck is happening?!” Joan burst through the door and their eyes widened. “Holy shi-”

 

\--------

 

Mark had ran to the kitchen to try and forget about it. He had to have been hallucinating or something…. He turned the corner just as he heard the fridge door close and a man in pink looked over at him as he grabbed a banana from the bowl on the island with comedic slowness as they stared at each other. Dark walked into the room from the other doorway.

|Ah. I see you’ve met.|

Wilford pointed the banana at him. “I know you!” He suddenly got flashbacks of recording Who Killed Markiplier.

“Uh…”

Dark rolled his eyes and pulled a stool over to the end of the island to sit. |Don’t worry. He won’t kill you.| He flashed a smile. |Probably.|

“That’s not comforting. How are you guys here?!”

“Well, ya see, it’s a complicated story. We kinda just… showed up. In your recording studio. Darky here went to go find you-”

|Haven’t I told you not to call me that?|

“-and here we are. Say, how’s our boy doing? You’ve been doing a bang-up job on that channel of yours. Lots of subscribers ya have.”

Mark just blinked. “Is that all of you? Like- are there more egos around here?”

“Are there Darky? I think Anti said something-”

“Anti?! Shit-” He ran up towards his computer, Wilford appearing at the top in a rain of pink glitter.

“Hey pal-”

“Shit-” He ran past him towards his recording studio, pulling up skype.

“Buddy-”

“Fuck! Not now Wilford!” He clicked on Sean and waited with bated breath. Dark appeared, putting a hand on Wil’s shoulder.

|Easy.|

They watched him freak out. Wilford lowered the gun slowly.

|Mark.| Mark didn’t answer, his leg jumping up and down rapidly.

|Mark!| Dark’s aura flashed, causing the room to flicker black and white for a moment before he composed himself. |We understand you’re upset. But you can’t work yourself down like that.|

“But what if he’s killed him?” Mark’s voice was small.

|He wouldn’t dare. Jack’s probably just freaking out. No wonder- who knows who’s there right now.|

Mark and Wilford both slowly turned towards him.

“Pardon?”

“Say wha?”

|There is the possibility of any of your characters appearing. It was just the two of us. It could just be Anti, or it could be any one of the others.|

Wilford gripped Mark’s shoulder and teleported away in a shower of glitter. Dark just sighed and followed the faint magic trail smelling of burnt caramel.

 

\------

 

Jack just sat on his couch, looking at Anti. “How the fuck did ya get here?”

Anti seemed to sigh. "I̷t̶’̸s̴ ̶n̸o̸t̵ ̴j̵u̴s̵t̵ ̷m̵e̵…̷.̵”

Jack opened his mouth to respond when he feels a weight behind him. He flipped around to see JJ smiling behind him, the sepia tone of his skin a stark contrast to Anti’s glitching. “JJ!” He ruffled the man’s hair and JJ gave him a thumbs up.

There was a poof of pink glitter and Mark appeared with- was that Wilford Warfstache? Mark jumped up.

“Sean! Oh, I am so glad you aren’t dead!” Jack jumped up and gave him a hug.

“Mark? How-”

The shadows elongated in the room as Dark appeared, flipping his hair out of his eyes. |Warn me when you do that next time please.|

His eyes locked with Anti. Anti pulled out a knife from midair. Wilford pulled out a revolver. Dark just stood there, hand stiffening but otherwise still other than the elongation of his aura, which seemed to be crackling and ringing. JJ was across the room quickly, holding his hands up between the three in a silent gesture of peace.

_*Woah, woah! This isn’t the place for a fight! Why don’t you chaps put down the weapons and chat. We don’t want anyone caught in the crossfire, do we?*_

Jameson’s voice echoed in his head and he went up towards them, hoping his input could help.

“Yeah guys, settle down. I don’t want any fights happening. I’m sure we can look past our differences for once, right?”

There were a few grumbles but all weapons disappeared. JJ shot him a look of relief.

 

\--------

 

Mat opened his recording closet and saw a figure in there.

“Uh, hello? Who are you, and why do you look like me?”

The man looked up and his bloodshot eyes widened. He took the- gag?- off of this mouth, what looked like ropes falling to the floor. “Holy- hello civilization! Finally, out of that dang restaurant. Say, do you have any Diet Coke?”

Matpat just nodded and handed him the one in his hand, waving for him to come on out. “Steph and the kiddo are out right now- want some water? Anything to eat?”

This was either a lucid dream or some weird time thing. Or… he honestly had no clue. He could check with some of his other Youtube friends after getting- himself?- settled.

“I know your name’s Matpat, but do you mind a nickname? Things could get confusing.”

He was sitting with the other him at his dining table and watching him guzzle down Diet Coke. The man swallowed and looked towards him, eyes shifting around as if looking at something he couldn’t see. “Uh- sure? Maybe a play on Matpat? Oh- I’ve got one.” He snapped his fingers, giving a slightly hysterical giggle. “Madpat. It’s a pun, see?” Mat felt a slightly crawling sensation between his shoulder blades- anxiety.

“Yep. I like it- Madpat. Any idea how you got here?” He sipped from his Diet Coke with nonchalance. Obviously the guy had just escaped from hell- wait. Restaurant? That reminded him of-

His phone rang. It was currently set to the Puppet’s music box from FNAF. He really needed to change it. “Sorry, that’s probably Steph- Mad?” The man was staring into space, the can crushed in his fist and Diet Coke running onto the table and dripping on the man’s dirty labcoat. “Mad?” The eyes looked at him, unseeing. He pressed the accept button.

[Mat?]

“Yeah hon?”

[I just wanted to let you know we’ll be out for a few more hours. Sorry if you were recording.]

“It’s no prob Steph! Give Jr. kisses from his papa! I’m going to get back to work.”

[Okay, see ya!]

He clicked the phone off, still looking at the man. “Mad?” The man jolted up.

“Hello?”

“Mad? It’s Mat-”

“Hello hello?” He giggled, but his eyes were still far too glassy.

“Mad?”

“Oh, hello!” His eyes were still unfocused, so he knew he hadn’t heard him.

“Mad!” He reached over and touched him on the shoulder. The man knocked the hand back, falling out of the chair and scrambling back, shaking his head until his back hit the wall.

“No no no no no no no, not again. I can’t do that again-”

“Mad! It’s me, Matpat! You’re fine! Everything’s okay!” The man blinked a few times, eyes losing some of their shine.   

“Mat?” It sounded broken. Like a discarded toy left out in the gutter. His heart hurt at the sound.

Who had done this to him?

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spacing is gonna be fucked for the rest of the story. Sorry, but it takes ages to format and I'm too lazy to do that because this is 36 pages and i'm posting this all at once like I do.

Nate was staring into space as Mare did his work. 

 

“Does it really have to come to this?” Phantom asked. “It’s not as if we can use him.”

 

“Maybe not, but I can at least get him out of the way.” 

 

Phantom played with his cane. He wondered what the others were doing. “Hey Mare?”

 

“Yes? I’m a little busy.” He was throwing him into an immersive dream- he’d have quite a few encounters with those of the… less savory of company. His fingers twitched as he worked, hands held a few inches from the man’s ears. 

 

“What about you little… project? Back at the restaurant-”

 

“The likelihood of him getting out is almost nothing. That nightmare is probably one of my best to date. Any more questions?” The tone in his voice was final. If there were any more questions…

 

“Nothing I can think of. I really would rather he just signed a contract-”

 

“He wrote you. He’d never fall for something like that. However, this affects everybody.” Natemare snapped his fingers and the man slumped, immersed in the dream completely. He walked around the room slowly, fingers stroking the instruments. “What do you think?”

 

“About?”

 

Mare rolled his eyes as he turned to face Phantom. “The tool. These instruments. The others. I’m leaving you an out here. Just answer one of them.” 

 

Phantom thought. “I suppose the instruments could work. We’ve never really-”

 

“Yes, I know that Wire has the most music ability out of the three of us. But we don’t have him, so we’ve got to make this work. You’ll have to do.” Phantom picked up a guitar and fingered it absently. He had Nate’s innate talent for the instrument, but he was much better with a backup band. 

 

“Is there a problem?” He looked up and Mare was in his face. “Are you having second thoughts? That would be going against our deal, now wouldn’t it?”

 

Mare was right. Now why had he offered that deal?

  
  


\--------

 

They were eating pizza when he got a message from Jacksepticeye of all people. They’d barely talked, so this was rather surprising. 

 

**S: Hey. I know we haven’t talked much, but you’re probably one of the only people who won’t think I’m crazy.**

 

**T: What’s up?**

 

**S: Has anything strange happened to you? Any… unexpected guests?**

 

He froze. Virgil looked over his shoulder and started freaking. “He knows. Oh god he knows. We’re going to get tested on, he’s going to tell everybody…”

 

“Thomas. Answer.”

 

“You have no idea what he’s talking about.~” 

 

**T: You too?**

 

**S: Oh thank god. I have two egos here, and Mark had the same issue. All of them?**

 

**T: Yep. All five. Anyone else had this sort of thing happen?**

 

There was a few minutes of inactivity while Patton calmed Virgil.

 

**S: Mark can’t get to Nate or Ethan. Matpat’s unresponsive. I don’t know about anyone else. If this sort of thing is happening all over youtube…**

 

**T: I’ll chat with the gang.**

 

“Uh, guys?”

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Jack said that he and Mark have had the same thing happen. They both have a few unexpected guests. A few friends of theirs are unresponsive.”

 

“We’re all gonna die…”

 

“Nobody’s going to die.” 

 

He and Roman shared a Look. They had a pretty impressive roster of crazy characters…

 

Deceit joined in the Look, raising his brows. They both looked at him in confusion.  _ What? _ He rolled his eyes. 

 

_ Obviously we have to go look at our friends and make sure they’re okay.  _

 

_ We can’t do everything. _

 

_ What do you think we can do Jekyll and Snide? _ Deceit rolled his eyes.

 

_ But we can do something. _

 

He turned his head as he heard the sharp sound of someone sucking a straw onto too little liquid. The door closed and a man in sunglasses wandered in, tossing Thomas a jingling set of keys. 

 

“Hey hons. Did I miss anything?”

 

\---------

 

Ethan was half-asleep when he heard something in his ear. He flipped around to see nothing. Weird. 

 

He saw a shadow on the wall and froze. He heard a strange mechanical ticking. He slowly looked over the edge of the bed. A face stared back at him. He jumped back with a shout as the mechanical man stood in a series of clicks and whirs, oil seeming to drip from it’s eyes. 

 

It- he?- whirred with a strange expression on his face, and Ethan recognized himself. It was… Blank? That was the name most of his fans seemed to use.

 

His stomach sank as he realized he wasn’t in a dream. 

 

\---------

 

Mare was pulling Nate out for a reprieve so he would still be affected by the dream. Nate heard his phone go off and reached into his pocket. 

 

“Hand the phone here.” Nate froze but eventually obeyed, leaving a message from someone named Mark on the screen. 

 

**M: You okay? You haven’t gotten back to me in a while.**

 

He quickly typed. 

 

**N: I’m fine! Sorry, was recording a video.**

 

**M: Okay! Just checking. What’s up?**

 

He inwardly cursed and handed the phone to Phantom. “Take care of this!” He sent Nate back into the dream with a snap of his fingers and paced. “Well?”

 

“Done.” The conman put the phone in his pocket. Mare raised a brow but let it be. 

 

“Strange he would ask at this time.”

 

“Oh?” Mare turned around. “You think-”

 

“The Egos have showed up? It’s a possibility. Should I go and-”

 

“Feel free. Return soon.” Phantom thumped his cane on the floor and poofed off in a cloud of red smoke. 

 

\-------

 

Phantom appeared at Mark’s house. He listened but heard nothing. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and pulled out the phone. 

 

**N: Look. Mark, this is Phantom.**

 

**M: Shit. Where’s Nate?**

 

**N: Mare has him.**

 

There was silence. Then: 

 

**M: Where are you?**

 

**N: At your house.**

 

He was going to text more when he felt something in the shadows and instinctively turned invisible. 

 

Dark appeared. |Phantom?|

 

He willed himself solid. “Hello.”

 

He felt an invisible force at his throat as Dark turned around and extended his aura. |How is he?|

 

He choked. “He’s-fine. Dar-”

 

He fell to the ground, ending up having to use his cane as a support as he coughed.

 

|What happened.| It was a statement rather than a question. He told him. 

 

“We appeared and Mare immediately took Nate over, saying he had to get him out of the way.”

 

|Why would you let him do that?| He felt a slight pressure at his throat again. 

 

“He had me make a deal. One he won’t be happy to hear that I’ve broken.”

 

Dark thought. |You can come with me.|

 

Phantom froze, seriously contemplating the idea. “He knows that I’ve gone to find you-”

 

|Then let him think we’ve kidnapped you.|

 

“But Nate-”

 

|I’ll send Wilford and JJ to take care of him.|

 

He nodded, pulling out Nate’s phone. “Okay, I’ll take your offer. But you’ll want to subdue him with this.” He pulled up the song and handed the phone to Dark, who pressed play, and a tune played out. He quickly stopped it and stowed it in his pocket. 

 

|Useful. Thank you.| 

 

He nodded and gripped his cane, seeing faint red wisps swirling within it. Just had to follow Dark’s magic back to where he had been and…

 

He disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

Mare was waiting for Nate to recover and was starting to get annoyed. Where was Phantom? Had he been kidnapped? Turned over himself to the other side? Broken the deal?

 

He paced, listening to Nate recover.

 

“Don’t put me back there. Please.”

 

He paused, turning around to his creator. “And why should I listen to you?”

 

There was no answer. He raised his hands to send Nate back into the dream again when he heard a music box. He stiffened, smelling burnt caramel. He whipped around to try to stop Wilford when his body fell to his knees.

 

He curled into a ball, shaking, Nate staring on in horror. Darkness overtook him as the song continued to play. Wilford tossed the device to JJ and he went over to help Nate up.

 

“You okay man?”

 

“Y-yeah. How…?”

 

“It’s the puppet’s music box in FNAF 2. It seems to have the side effect of making him become… inactive. Let’s get you out of here.”

 

_*Hurry. He’s starting to fight it.*_

 

JJ’s aura had slowly quieted the phone, and Mare’s arms started twitching. WIlford nodded and grabbed both of their arms, teleporting away in a cloud of pink.

 

Mare slowly got up, the music gone. He cursed and grabbed the nearest guitar. Sure, he might not have the most powerful vocals, but he knew how to play a guitar, even if it wasn’t his ideal way to affect people.

 

He threw the strap over his head and disappeared.

 

That traitor was going to pay.

 

\--------

 

Mark and Sean were playing a game of scrabble with the other Egos. JJ was winning, with Dark close behind, and the two Youtubers tied after them. Anti was getting frustrated, and Wilford had stepped back and was watching them all with a smile. He let out a laugh as Anti flipped the board with a scowl as JJ won.

 

JJ frowned slightly and the pieces flew back into place. They just stared as Wilford chuckled, Anti let out a glitchy scream of frustration, and Mark’s phone chimed. Phantom was in the corner trying not to be noticed. Mark pulled out his phone as Anti glitched out of the room. Nate was sitting on the end of the couch wrapped in blankets. A figure appeared with a blue guitar.

 

“You!” He pointed towards Phantom, who immediately stood up and put himself in front of Nate protectively.

 

“He’s our creator! You can’t just-”

 

“I can do what I want! You broke our deal!” He stroke a chord on the instrument, and Nate tensed behind him.

 

Phantom struck his cane upon the ground, and Nate disappeared from the room in a flash of red.

 

“Cheater!”

 

“What’s this? What’s this? There’s people everywhere. What’s this? There’s magic in the air. There’s Natemare playing music, and Anti throwing knives-” Phantom started to sing a parody of what was unmistakably What’s This from Nightmare Before Christmas. A knife flew from the kitchen and narrowly missed the pair as Phantom sang and Mare struck chords on the guitar. It turned into a cacophony of noise. Phantom immediately switched courses when he realized what Mare was playing. “Just sleep, just dream-”

 

“No!”

 

“It’s been a nightmare this whole time, There’s nothing simply out of line-”

 

The guitar fell from his hands and Mare let out another shout. “Phantom!”

 

“Just sleep, just dream.~”

 

Mare fell to the ground, as did the vast majority of the room. Phantom looked taken aback, as did Dark and Jack, who happened to stay awake.

 

“Whoops.” He pulled what seemed to be a chain of colorful handkerchiefs out of nowhere and bound his former partner up.

 

He poked him with his cane and the man dissolved into mist, disappearing into the orb for the time being.

 

He thought. “Wake up?” Nothing. He obviously didn’t put any actual power behind his words.

 

|You really don’t know how this works do you?|

 

Phantom just shrugged. “Never needed to use it before. People always just came to me out of greed. Should I try again?”

 

“Uh-yeah?” Jack stifled a yawn.

 

Phantom shrugged and planted his staff on the floor. He used the first tune he had in in head. “And now we’re passed out on the floor of your apartment. With every single warning sign, it passed me up and slipped me by, but we’re all bound to end up back to where we started.” He fiddled with his cane, his face resting in the natural smile it had when he was singing. “Make no mistake, you won’t stay down. Woah oh oh woah oh oh… Shout it around town-“

 

The people slumped over gasped and awoke almost in sync. He smirked. “Well that seemed to work.”

 

Dark looked over. |Yes. Thank you for giving me a musical shot of coffee. It’s very much appreciated.| Phantom could almost feel the sarcasm.

 

“Sorry. But it did work.”

 

“So you can persuade people with your voice?”

 

Phantom rubbed his neck and swirled his cane, Nate reappearing from where he had teleported him to the bedroom. “Technically. Mare can lull them to sleep with his guitar, and Wire can use his voice and his piano to influence their actions more than either of us.”

 

“Wire?”

 

“You in Take Me Anywhere.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Mark rubbed his eyes and sat up fully as his phone chimed.

 

**T: You know how I said there were five?**

 

**M: Yeah?**

 

**T: Six. The main five and one from my vines.**

 

**M: Which one?**

 

**T: Sleep. Bit Basic™ but not bad. Luhaljhlluhl**

 

**M: Thomas?**

 

**T: Nah hon, this is Sleep. Are you two complaining about me?~**

 

**T: Sorry about that. He grabbed my phone.**

 

**M: No prob. Anything weird happening?**

 

**T: Getting all of the recording done in record time, but not much. You?**

 

**M: Got in touch with Nate. Natemare and Phantom are here too. Phantom contained Mare and yeah. Basically a lot happening.**

 

**T: Anything with Matpat?**

 

Mark frowned. “Hey, anyone know anything about Matpat-”

 

Wilford disappeared in a puff of smoke. Dark facepalmed and left to follow him.

 

**M: I’ve got my guys checking on him. Anyone you know affected?**

 

**T: Nope. Anything with Ethan or Tyler?**

 

Mark froze, a feeling of dread coursing through him. He frantically texted Ethan.

 

**M: Ethan? You okay?**

 

**He didn’t get an answer. He was probably just recording a video. Or sleeping…**

 

**E: Yeah… say, you know where to go to fix complex motors? Mechanically?**

 

**M: It’s Blank isn’t it?**

 

**E: WHat??? nO!**

 

**M: Wilford and Dark appeared, along with Anti, JJ, and a bunch of other characters. Don’t lie.**

 

**E: Yeah. His voicebox isn’t working right and he’s leaking oil.**

 

**M: I don’t know what to say to that. I guess I can see if anyone here knows how to fix that sort of thing. BRB**

 

“Hey, does anyone know how to fix automatons? Random question. Asking for a friend.”

 

Phantom looked up. “What kind?”

 

“The human kind?”

 

“Who is it for?”

 

“Ethan.”

 

Phantom put a hand on his face, thinking. “I might be able to help- I picked up a few things when working with Wire. What kinds of problems is he having?” Mark checked the text.

 

“Something about a malfunctioning voicebox and leaking oil?”

 

Phantom shook his head. “I don’t know anything that complicated. Say- and neither of them are here. Any one of you guys work with Google at some point?”

 

The characters in the room shook their heads. “̶N̸o̵p̷e̶.̷ ̸T̷h̵a̷t̸ ̶w̸a̵s̸ ̴m̵o̷s̴t̸l̵y̵ ̵B̵i̵n̸g̸ ̶a̷n̴d̵ ̷t̴h̵e̴ ̸o̴t̴h̵e̶r̵ ̴G̶o̸o̸g̶l̸e̴s̸.̶ ̸I̷ ̷d̸i̴d̶n̵’̴t̴ ̵i̸n̸t̴e̵r̴a̶c̵t̴ ̵w̸i̶t̶h̶ ̵t̸h̴e̵m̸, ̵m̵u̶c̶h̸,̵ ̸l̸e̶s̴s̶ ̷s̷o̶ ̶t̷h̸e̸ ̸C̷r̷a̷n̷k̵s̸.̷ ̷I̵ ̸b̶a̸r̵e̵l̴y̸ ̴k̵n̷o̶w̶ ̷a̷n̴y̴o̷n̶e̶ ̶o̴t̶h̴e̴r̶ ̷t̷h̸a̸n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̴ ̴g̴u̸y̷s̶ ̷a̴n̷d̴ ̷o̶n̵e̶ ̶e̷m̷o̶ ̴g̷u̷y̵ ̷I̸ ̶s̷a̵w̴ ̴o̴n̸c̸e̷ ̴a̸t̷ ̵a̵ ̶C̴h̶r̵i̸s̵t̶m̴a̷s̷ ̷P̶a̶r̷t̴y̴.̵”̶

 

“Wait- you guys have a Christmas Party?”

 

Anti nodded and fiddled with a corkscrew from the kitchen. “̷W̷e̵ ̴h̶a̸v̸e̸ ̴a̷n̷ ̶e̸n̸t̵i̵r̸e̴ ̴p̴l̸a̸n̴e̷ ̷o̶f̵ ̷e̶x̴i̶s̵t̷e̷n̵c̷e̶.̴ ̸I̷ ̶d̴o̶n̴’̴t̷ ̷t̷h̶i̶n̸k̴ ̷i̷t̴’̵s̸ ̶u̶n̷l̸i̴k̸e̷l̷y̶ ̵f̵o̵r̸ ̷u̷s̴ ̶t̵o̷ ̷h̶a̸v̷e̵ ̶a̴ ̷C̶h̸r̴i̷s̴t̴m̷a̶s̴ ̵P̷a̷r̸t̷y̴.̷”̷

 

“You have an entire plane of existence?!”

 

“What kind of party?”

 

Mark looked at Jack, who shrugged. “Hey, you don’t seem to have your priorities straight.”

 

“My priorities?! You’re asking about what kind of Christmas parties they have!”

 

“̸I̴t̷’̸s̸ ̸c̴o̸o̴l̸.̶ ̷A̵n̵y̷o̷n̴e̵ ̸w̴h̵o̶ ̴w̸a̸n̶t̶s̷ ̴t̶o̶ ̶c̵o̶m̵e̷ ̶i̵s̸ ̷i̶n̷v̵i̴t̷e̸d̴,̶ ̴s̶o̶ ̵i̴t̶’̴s̶ ̷b̷a̶s̷i̶c̸a̴l̵l̵y̵ ̸a̶ ̸h̶o̵d̶g̸e̶p̶o̴d̸g̴e̴ ̵o̵f̸ ̶p̶e̶o̷p̶l̸e̸.̷ ̷I̷ ̶u̴s̶u̸a̵l̵l̴y̶ ̸j̵u̸s̵t̵ ̵e̴i̴t̸h̷e̶r̵ ̶h̴a̴n̴g̵ ̸w̵i̷t̷h̴ ̸I̸p̶l̴i̶e̵r̶ ̴o̴r̵ ̵G̶o̶o̶g̷l̵e̴ ̵t̴h̷o̶u̷g̴h̸.̴ ̴T̸o̵o̵ ̵m̴a̶n̸y̴ ̵p̷e̴o̵p̶l̷e̴ ̷m̵a̷k̸e̵s̵ ̷m̷e̸ ̶w̶a̶n̵t̴ ̵t̵o̸ ̶s̶t̷a̸b̸ ̵s̸o̴m̴e̴b̶o̸d̴y̸,̵ ̴a̷n̴d̷ ̷I̸ ̵w̸a̸s̸ ̵b̴a̸n̸n̷e̷d̵ ̴o̸n̸e̶ ̶y̵e̸a̴r̷ ̵a̷f̵t̷e̷r̴ ̸I̸ ̸a̴l̶m̴o̸s̵t̸ ̶t̴o̸o̶k̷ ̵s̵o̴m̴e̴o̵n̶e̸’̵s̵ ̸h̸e̷a̶d̷ ̴o̶f̷f̵ ̷w̷i̴t̸h̶ ̵a̴ ̵t̴o̷a̵s̴t̵e̷r̴.̷”̷

 

“I’m not sure to be impressed or scared.”

 

Anti just shrugged and tossed the corkscrew into a growing amount of weapons stuck into the wall.

 

“Anti, that’s going to take ages to clean up!” Anti just smiled and threw a butter knife into the wall. That must have taken some effort, ‘cause it stuck straight out of the wall.

 

Dark appeared. |Bit of a problem.|

 

“What happened?” Dark would never admit that there was a problem…

 

|Madpat’s crazy and is probably going to end up freaking out because of the two of you’s similarities to Mare.| He pointed at Phantom and Nate.

 

Phantom got up. “Show me where he is.”

 

|Phantom-|

 

“I said, show me where he is.” Dark gestured towards him and Phantom disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Only the most stylish coordinate their clothing with their magic.

 

Dark sighed. |I’d better make sure they don’t kill each other.| He jumped when he felt JJ’s hand on his arm. |You want to come?|

 

JJ nodded, and they disappeared into shadows.

 

\------

 

JJ and Dark appeared in a room with just enough time to get a can of Diet Coke to the face. Dark growled but said nothing, looking at JJ. JJ slowly wiped the carbonated drink off of his face and walked slowly towards the man lobbing cans from the corner, holding the can in his hand and setting it onto the table as he went.  

 

He went up to the shaking man and noticed Phantom looking regretful in the corner. He hadn’t even been gone that long… Matpat stepped into the room with eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

 

“What- I don’t think I want to know. Mad? You alright?” He’d noticed the man in the corner clutching an empty can of Coke. How many did he even have?!

 

Jameson waved a hand towards him absently and his mouth closed with a confused expression. He crept slowly towards Mad, keeping his hands where the man could see them and his movements slow. The sepia tone slowly disappeared until he was flesh coloured.

 

 _*Heya pal- don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you.*_ He’d perched himself four feet from the figure with his hands splayed where he could see them, voice impossibly soft. _*I know you probably won’t believe me if I ask you to trust me, but that’s perfectly reasonable. I just want to help you. What’s wrong?*_ He remembered what Dark had said.

 

_|Madpat’s crazy....|_

 

He gulped, readying himself for a backlash of something…

 

He got a can to the face.  He grunted as it hit his nose, and the sepia tone returned as he tried to calm down his anger. Mad started to giggle, a high-pitched, grating sound, and that almost set him off. _Don’t lose your temper… things get bad when you lose your temper…_

 

He tried to smile and got another can to the face, this time Coke spraying across his vest.  He tried not to snap, only letting out a single word before he walked into another room to walk it off.

 

 _*Five.*_ His voice was cold, the annoyance in his voice surprising Dark. Why- ah, the number system they had coined for Anti and Dark at meetings. Not a bad time to use it. Mat managed to pry his jaws apart by using his fingernail.

 

“Is he okay-?”

 

|He’ll be fine. He’s just annoyed. Takes a lot but he knows how to calm himself down. So… why is he like this? Last time we were in touch with him he was… normal. A little eccentric, but certainly not… this.|

 

“I don’t know, I found him in my recording closet tied up? He freaked out after my ringtone-”

 

|What is it?|

 

“The Puppet’s music box, but-”

 

“No no no no no not again, please, not again-”

 

Dark looked at him in worry. |I can ask- hey Phantom, do you know-|

 

Phantom was humming a tune in the corner. “Oh? Do I-? Well that’s a little-”

 

|Do you know or not?|

 

Phantom hung his head. “He’s been a personal project of Mare’s for a while. A few weeks? A month? I don’t know- I think he was testing him on something with a restaurant-?”

 

“Oh no- If he did what I think he did-”

 

They looked at the broken man giggling in the corner, Diet Coke making the floor sticky and wet.

 

What had he been put through?

 

The man just giggled.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things. 
> 
> A) Fuck spacing.   
> B) Mad's an ass and kidnapped someone. Don't worry, he's fine, but you might want to skip a scene.

Chase was looking for JJ. 

 

“Hey Marvin? You see JJ?” The man never missed their movie nights, but he hadn’t seen him in quite a while… 

 

“No I haven’t. I haven’t seen Anti or Dark or WIlford either. Actually, It’s been really quiet.”

 

Chase’s frown deepened and he fiddled with his nerf gun. “Okay….. Have you seen Host? He might know-”

 

“The Host has been summoned. What is it that required the Host’s attention? Chase frowns, confused at how he knew but the Host has his ways…”

 

“Okay Host. Do you know where Dark, JJ, Anti, or Wilford are?”

 

“The Host recalls something he saw a matter of days ago. Host was reading his favourite book when he heard a strange noise and when he turned around Wilford had vanished as had Dark who he had been talking with. Host feels the removed presence of many people in the Void. Chase and Marvin digest this information...”

 

“Okay… do you know where they are? How they disappeared?” 

 

“Host does not know but suggests they speak to their creators using the phone system.”

 

Oh,  right. He  forgot they had that. “Thanks Host.” 

 

“Host accepts your thanks and walks down the hall to read his book in peace…” Host walked off. 

 

Chase and Marvin looked at each other before sprinting to the payphone-eque system set up in the common area. They elbowed people out of the way before hitting the big button that said JACK/SEAN on it. They held the phone between them with bated breath as Jack picked up.

 

[Hello?]

 

“Jack! It’s Marvin and Chase- you haven’t seen Anti, Dark, JJ, or Wilford lately have you? Host said that a bunch of people went missing from the Void-”

 

[Yeah! They’re around here somewhere, don’t worry! Hey Mark, who do you know that came into our universe?]

 

They heard Mark’s voice from Sean’s end. [Last time I checked… six Sanders, Mare and Phantom, Dark and Wilford, JJ and Anti, Blank, uh… oh! Mad, um… and I think that’s it? I feel like I’m missing someone…]

 

[I don’t think so! Well, if you re I’m going crazy. I think that’s all. Does that match up with what you guys found out?]

 

“It certainly does give us more information. Thanks!” Marvin hung up the receiver and sat down, lost in thought. 

 

“Marvin? Don’t you think we should tell the others?” 

 

“Uh? Oh, yeah, yeah, go ahead.” He was still staring into space. Chase snapped his fingers in front of his face and Marvin jolted back. 

 

“Marvin! Are you coming with me or what?”

 

Marvin shook his head. “Sorry- I need to try to figure out how they all got out. If they end up staying over there…” 

 

“The world won’t end. I can’t do all of the work you know!” He hauled the magician to his feet and pulled him along the hallway towards thee Googles. They could broadcast the news to any other Android in the Void and then held them tell the others who were affected. 

 

They had work to do. 

 

\--------

  
  


Thomas was just done. He was done! Today was a mess…

 

“Stop it.” He jumped as Virgil appeared by his bedside table. “Get some sleep.” Sleep poked his head in.

 

“Hon, he’s not getting me! Consent and all!” Virgil rolled his eyes and turned towards Sleep, an annoyed expression on his face. 

 

“He needs to get some rest Sleep. Either do your actual job, or I might just have Thomas write another character to replace you. I’m sure Roman would be happy to help.” 

 

Sleep glared at him for a few seconds before swan-diving onto the bed and Thomas immediately fell asleep. Virgil huffed then went downstairs to make sure the others were okay. 

 

\---------

 

Ethan was drinking some orange juice and reading what Blank had scribbled down. He nodded. “I think I might be able to get some of those parts, but you said that someone else usually fixed things for you if you couldn’t. Who?”

 

**Google sometimes, mostly Wire** was written onto the paper. Huh. 

 

“Okay… I’ll see what i can find. In the meantime I’ll get you some more paper towels. Need anything else?”

 

**Nope. I’m sorry to be a burden.**

 

“What? No- you’re fine! It was just unexpected! Don’t worry Blank- I’ll try to fix you up as much as I can.”

 

Ethan headed out to Home Depot with a list of parts, hoping he could find at least half of what was on the list. 

 

\----------

 

Mad giggled maniacally. Mat ignored him as he cleaned up the drink. He nodded. Good. He wasn’t paying attention to him. He got up and wiped off his lab coat with his hands, walking swiftly towards the garage while Mat was distracted. He pulled a device out of his pocket. 13 names showed up as he powered up the green screen. 

 

_ Sanders: 6 _

 

_ -Morality _

_ -Anxiety _

_ -Deceit _

_ -Creativity _

_ -Logic _

_ -Sleep _

 

_ Wantstobattle:2 _

 

_ -NateMare _

_ -Phantom _

 

_ Septics: 2 _

 

_ -Jameson Jackson _

_ -Antisepticeye _

 

_ Ipliers: 2 _

 

_ -Darkiplier _

_ -Wilford Warfstache _

 

_ Theorists: _

 

_ -Madpat _

  
  


He tapped on one name. 

  
  


_ Antisepticeye _

 

_ -Power Level: High _

_ -Attributes: Strength/Endurance/Charisma/Weapons Skills _

_ -Weaknesses: Unpredictable/Strong Willed _

_ -Influence: Medium- Fear Based _

 

_ The Loose Cannon _

 

He frowned and picked another as he opened the door to the garage and turned on the light. 

 

_ Darkiplier _

 

_ -Power Level: High _

_ -Attributes: Ruthless/Emotionless _

_ -Weaknesses: Wilford _

_ -Influence: High- to a certain extent. Others become docile after while _

 

_ The Balsa Wood _

  
  


He scowled and picked another as he scoured the garage for the right parts. Curse this lack of supplies. 

 

_ Anxiety _

 

_ -Power Level: Med _

_ -Attributes: Enhanced senses _

_ -Weaknesses: Morality/High levels of stress _

_ -Influence: Low- limited. Can influence others for short periods of time only with negative emotions. Cannot give directions _

 

_ The Cactus _

  
  


He growled and picked one at random. 

 

_ Morality _

 

_ -Power Level: Low. Laughable _

_ -Attributes: None _

_ -Weaknesses: Naive and emotional. Reckless _

_ -Influence: High. Father figure of group. Unknown reason why _

 

_ The Flower _

 

He cursed and threw the device at the wall, it landing on the ground with the rattle of hard plastic. Fortunately it didn’t break. He picked it up and shoved it in his pocket.

 

What puppet should he use? Anti and Dark were too independent. They would fight every step of the way. Anxiety was too short lived. Morality was a laughingstock. His brain locked on an idea, and a file came to mind. One he was glad he hadn’t deleted. He pulled out the device and clicked a name. He gave a maniac grin, the corners of his mouth stretching in an unhinged, unnatural way.

 

_ Jameson Jackson _

 

_ -Power Level: Unknown _

 

He amended that and rewrote the file. 

 

_ -Power Level: High.  _

_ -Attributes: Silent/Weapons Expert/Temperamental _

_ -Weaknesses: Slow to action _

_ -Influence: Low. Known as the child of the group. Will take his ideas into consideration however.  _

 

_ The Puppet _

 

Perfect. He set the device aside and got to work while he could. He had to be quick. 

 

For another version of himself Mat was horribly slow on the uptake. 

 

But that sort of thing did seem to be true with everyone to the mad scientist. People in general were… playthings. 

 

And he’d have quite the time playing with them. 

 

Christmas had come early to Madpat this year. 

 

\------

 

Jameson was pacing in the room when Mad walked in, looking perfectly at home and as sane as always, although his eyes still looked… off. His hair was slightly wilder than usual, and he was back to wearing his signature welding goggles. He looked at Phantom who was sitting on the bed watching him with interest. 

 

“Hey, Deal Or No Deal, I’d rather not barter my soul today so if you would just leave…” He pulled a few things out of his pockets and placed them on the desk, fiddling with his device. Phantom didn’t move. Jameson turned around slowly. 

 

_ *You were trying to make me angry weren’t you.* _

 

Mad just laughed and attached a few things, stuffing extra components into his dirty lab coat.

 

“Well of course! Really, is everyone this slow or am I just crazy?” He giggled again and tapped on the green screen. 

 

_ *I was kind to you!*  _

 

“Yes, yes, your biggest weakness. Has anyone ever told you that?” He didn’t notice Jameson’s color had returned, and his eyes were glowing a faint green instead of his usual baby blue. Phantom willed himself intangible and stood out of the way to watch. 

 

_ *You really didn’t do your research d̸i̷d̷ ̸y̴o̶u̶?̵* _

 

A disembodied gloved hand appeared holding a old antique knife Phantom remembered from one of his visits to the house- it was in a glass case from the hallway. He grabbed it from the hand and pointed it at Mad. 

 

* **S̸e̷v̸e̵n̵** .̸*

 

Phantom blanched and disappeared to go get somebody, anybody. JJ wasn’t acting like himself… 

 

\-----

 

“ANTI!” Pantom appeared in a flash of red smoke, looking freaked out. 

 

“W̵h̴a̸t̸?̸ ̶C̷a̸n̸’̸t̶ ̵y̵o̷u̶ ̷s̴e̵e̶ ̷I̴’̷m̵ ̴b̶u̶s̴y̶?̷”̶ The glitch was balancing knives on the table by their handles. 

 

“It’s JJ. He’s acting… weird. Mad managed to somehow get him angry-”

 

“S̴h̶i̴t̷.̸ ̶W̶i̸l̸f̷o̷r̷d̵,̸ ̴c̶o̸m̸e̸ ̸w̶i̷t̷h̴ ̸u̷s̷.̸ ̶W̶e̸’̷r̵e̶ ̶g̷o̶n̷n̸a̶ ̸n̸e̸e̷d̴ ̵b̶a̵c̴k̴u̷p̶ ̷i̵f̶ ̵y̴o̵u̴ ̵d̴o̸n̷’̸t̸ ̸w̶a̷n̷t̵ ̶t̶o̸ ̸m̵e̴ ̴t̷o̷ ̷h̶a̸v̷e̴ ̸t̷o̴ ̷k̷i̵l̸l̴ ̷h̸i̷m̶.̶” 

 

Jack stood. “What’s wrong with JJ?”

 

“N̵o̸t̴h̵i̸n̵g̸.̶ ̴H̷o̵p̵e̸f̸u̴l̷l̸y̵.̴ ̴H̴e̷’̶s̷ ̶j̷u̸s̵t̸ ̸g̷o̸t̴ ̸q̵u̷i̶t̶e̵ ̷t̵h̸e̷ ̵t̴e̵m̴p̶e̸r̵.̶ ̶M̵a̴k̵e̸s̸ ̶m̵e̵ ̸l̴o̵o̷k̸ ̷t̷a̸m̸e̷,̴ ̶a̷n̵d̴ ̵w̶e̵l̷l̸…̵ ̷y̶o̶u̴ ̸m̴a̸d̷e̷ ̵h̵i̷s̶ ̶v̴i̴d̶e̴o̸.̵ ̵Y̶o̶u̶ ̴k̴n̸o̸w̴ ̵w̵h̴a̵t̸ ̶h̸e̴’̷s̵ ̵c̵a̸p̵a̴b̶l̴e̷ ̸o̸f̸.̴”

 

“No, I really don-” 

 

But they had already disappeared into smoke and glitches. 

 

\-------

 

Jameson was coming closer with the knife to the very oblivious Mad when he heard something. A sort of… poof. The others were here. He conjured some gloved hands and ordered them to grab Mad while he tried to hear who was here. There was some confused noises by Mat and Dark outside. Mad was struggling in the gloves.

 

“Anti? What-”

 

|What’s the situation? I know JJ’s a bit annoyed but-|

 

“He said he was at a seven a couple minutes ago. I got them.” 

 

|Seven? He’s only ever been a seven once- oh no. JJ!| He felt the shadows deepen and he seethed. W̵h̸y̷ ̸w̸o̵u̵l̸d̴n̶’̷t̶ ̶a̸n̵y̴o̶n̶e̸ ̶j̸u̸s̷t̷ ̵l̵e̴t̷ ̷h̸i̸m̵ ̸k̵i̶l̷l̸ ̷h̶i̴m̸?̶!̴ He flung the knife at Mad-

 

Time slowed, and the world turned monochrome. Dark appeared in rolling shadows, judging the situation. He slid over and pulled the knife from the air, admiring the detail in the blade and watching fury slowly overtake the man’s face, his green eyes burning like fire. He looked at Mad in confusion. Why was he wearing his Lab Coat and goggles? He saw the device sitting on the desk behind him and picked up the phone-sized object. He read the names on the screen and scowled. No wonder JJ wanted to murder him. He’d probably made it so they were in this world in the first place. Dark could get back easily, since he used the Void to travel, but that would have posed a problem to anyone but him. 

 

He coldly smashed the device in his hands and threw the pieces into the shadows, sending them to his office in the Void for later observation by the Googles. He took an extra look at JJ and stepped back, replacing the blade in it’s fixed position in the air. He eyed the trajectory. It would end up driving itself right into the man’s skull… he sort of wanted him alive. So he moved it so it would land right under his jawline- enough to leave a shallow cut but not enough to kill him. Definitely enough to scare him. He looked at the gloves holding the man in place. He knew JJ had hands he could use, but these were a rather elegant touch. 

 

He felt movement ripple through the area and saw Wilford open the door at what would be regular speed if time wasn’t slowed. Wilford raised his brows and Dark shrugged before he let time advance.  

 

The knife landed with a thunk, leaving Mad to shout as a shallow cut appeared on his jawline. JJ straight-up punched the man in his jaw, leaving the hands to support the dead weight as he was knocked out. The man turned to stare at the two in confusion, the blue slowly returning to his eyes. 

 

*Why didn’t you let me kill him? You hate him ever since he mocked you at a Christmas Party! Wilford, old chap, he mocked your television show! He blew up your set!*

 

Dark sighed. |Much as I would have liked for you to kill him we need him alive.|

 

“Why is that Darky?”

 

|I said never to call me that. You may be my oldest… ally, but you have boundaries. As for the not killing him, well, let’s just say I have a feeling I know someone who would have more enjoyment out of the experience.|

 

The door opened and Anti stepped in. He looked at Mad. “I̸s̸ ̵h̴e̷ ̵d̶e̴a̸d̷?̷” He said this with the utmost glee, as if his death would make the universe balanced again.

 

Dark smiled. |Saved him for you. I’m going to assume you want to take him off my hands? He’s unconscious, so that should make your job easier.|

 

Anti stifled a maniacal chuckle of pure excitement. “Aw̸w̴,̴ ̶D̶a̷r̴k̷y̷,̷ ̴y̸o̴u̷ ̷t̴r̵u̴l̷y̵ ̷k̷n̸o̵w̷ ̷h̷o̵w̷ ̵t̶o̵ ̸t̵r̴e̵a̸t̶ ̶a̵ ̵m̵a̴n̶.”

 

His eye twitched as Anti went over and threw the man over his shoulder, brushing off the hands like flies. 

 

|I said never to call me that. What is it with you two’s obsession with calling me pet names? We are not in a relationship of any kind, nor do any of us wish to be as of the last time we talked.|

 

“̸I̵t̸’̴s̸ ̶‘̴c̷a̷u̷s̶e̶ ̶w̵e̷’̵r̴e̷ ̸f̴r̶i̸e̸n̷d̶s̵ ̶y̵a̵ ̴b̶a̷s̸t̶a̷r̷d̷.” Anti let out another giggle and disappeared with Mad. Dark knew he’s find a way back into the Void if he wanted to go home anyway. 

 

“Hey, where’s-” Matpat poked his head in and sighed. “I don’t think I want to know. Will he be okay at least?”

 

|No.| 

 

“Depends on your definition of okay.”

 

Phantom appeared in a burst of red smoke. “If it helps he lied to all of us about his mental state.”

 

Mat stepped back half a foot and sighed. “Fine. I suppose I should be worried about him, because he is technically an alternate version of me, but honestly I should have figured. I don’t think all of it was a fake though- you should have seen him when FNAF came up.”

 

Dark chuckled. |I’ll tell Anti. He’ll be happy with the information.|

 

“You’re- you’re not gonna torture him are you?!” Dark shrugged. 

 

|He’s not my problem. He’s cause Anti a lot of trouble.|

 

“What sort of trouble requires killing another human being?!” JJ looked up. 

 

*Things of the sort chaps like you would, I daresay, barely be able to imagine while being able to stay sane.* He was flipping the knife from earlier through his fingers with expert ease, trying to dissolve what remained of his anger. 

 

Mat got a phone call. He put the phone to his head. “Sorry, have to take this. It’s Steph.” 

 

His face blanched. “Pardon?”

 

There were a few seconds of muttering on the other end. Mat dropped the phone. Dark scooped it up, his aura calming down substantially as his voice shifted slightly to something warmer and slightly higher. 

 

|What seems to be the issue?|

 

There was a bout of frenzied speaking on the other end, along with the unmistakable sounds of sobbing. Dark’s- or should I say Damien’s- eyes softened. 

 

|Oh- Mrs. Patrick. I completely understand how you feel. I believe I happen to know the perpetrator, and I can create a search party to make sure he comes home safe and sound. In the meantime, I will be transferring you to a better person to talk to who might understand your situation more and can comfort you to the best of her ability. Please hold on for a few seconds if it isn’t much trouble.|

 

He walked out of the room as his aura shifted to red, and he heard a much higher voice speaking outside the door as she walked to the couch. Wilford raised his brows. 

 

“My, haven’t seen ol’ Darky use that trick in quite a while.” He turned to where JJ was comforting the Youtuber on the ground. 

 

Phantom furrowed his brows and disappeared in a flash of gold, his cane falling to the ground. 

 

“Say, what happened?”

 

Mat looked up, streams of tears on his face. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Wilford’s eyes softened and he swept forwards burying the man in a hug. 

 

“There, there. I’ll make sure we get him back, don’t worry.” 

 

They just sat in a pile, the only sound Matthew’s choked sobs and Selene talking to a distraught mother outside. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I don't usually get this terrible with my fics but Mad was screaming at me that he needed to something truly horrible and this was what I thought of. He's fine, don't worry. 
> 
> I'm never going to write that sort of thing again. I almost didn't post this strictly because of that but I decided I should and I'll just warn you guys. I'm sorry if it affected you. I really am.


	5. Chapter 5

Phantom stood in a cozily cluttered room filled with an assortment of items. Mare was sitting in a large armchair staring at him. 

 

“Finally get a taste of your own medicine?”

 

“I need to speak with you.” 

 

Mare cocked a brow. “Me? You hate me- you’ve made that perfectly clear by my entrapment.” 

 

Phantom shook his head, sitting down across from him, a table with mugs of hot chocolate and coffee between them. “I could never hate you.”

 

“What kind words. What did you want to speak about? Maybe we could make a deal.”

 

Phantom sighed. “Okay, look. A friend of a friend’s kid’s been taken.”

 

“That concerns me how?”

 

“Mad took him.” 

 

Mare jolted up, hands clenched on the armrests. “Impossible! He should be trapped in the pizzaria!”

 

“Well he’s not. I need you to help find him, trap him, and get the kid back intact and alive.” 

 

Mare growled. “What’s in it for me?” 

 

“You and Anti get to have your fun with him.”

 

“Anti?” Mare sat back in his chair with a scoff. “Why would I want to work with him?” 

 

“You two have very similar motivations. It’s simple, really. You help get his kid back, and you’re free to go torment him with Anti helping you. It’s a win-win situation.” 

 

“I suppose I have to sign a contract, don’t I?”

 

He gave an easy grin and rolled out a piece of parchment, nudging over a quill. “You know me, it’s part of the job description.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah, give it here.” Mare signed it and shoved it towards him, stretching and getting up. “We starting?”

 

“Yep. Want a guitar?” 

 

Mare thought then shook his head and cracked his knuckles and neck. “Nah.”

 

“If ya need one just ask. I still have a couple of things. You could use a couple of drumsticks as weapons you know.” 

 

Mare just stared at him and gave a half-chuckle, holding out his hand. Phantom threw a set at him. “You have too much stuff in here.” 

 

The room began to fill with smoke. “It’s just right, shut it.” 

 

They emerged from the cane with satisfied smiles on their faces. Mare glanced at Mat. “Poor guy?”

 

“Don’t sound so mean. Give him a good dream why don’tcha.” He shoved his partner and the man stumbled over, kneeling down a couple of feet from the group. 

 

“Hey.” Mare’s voice was hushed. He nodded to the other two comforting him. “Let me give him some sleep.” They eyed him, if anything moving closer to Mat. Mare rolled his eyes. “I made a deal. Let me help.” 

 

They reluctantly moved away, although Wilford pulled out a gun and trained it on Mare, who swallowed and held his hands over Mat’s ears. They only hovered there for a few seconds twitching before he snapped his fingers, Mat falling into a deep sleep. He stood up and nodded to the group of them before taking out a drumstick and beat out a small beat on the dresser before one pointed to the left unbidden and he disappeared into purple shadows. 

 

\--------

 

Thomas was having all of them edit. They all knew how to surprisingly, but even better was that they all did the job well. Well, everyone but Sleep, who went out for drinks and hadn’t been back in half an hour. 

 

They ended up finishing the video in only eight hours work of work. Virgil and Logan watched it again and again, writing down small changes they had to make until they deemed it sufficient. They all decided to take a break for the night and watch cartoons. Surprisingly, Deceit was the one most into Steven Universe, surpassing Roman’s infectious enthusiasm. He continued to deny it when they asked, and Thomas learned not to bother. 

 

He got a call from an unknown number. Virgil told him to put it down. He listened, figuring they’d leave a message if it was really important. They called again. He took the chance and answered, pausing the cartoon. 

 

“Hello?” 

 

[Hey, is this Thomas Sanders?]

 

“Yes, that’s me. How can I help you?” 

 

[You’ve already helped me enough, thank you.]

 

“Excuse me?” Virgil had looked up, sensing Thomas’s confusion and faint anxiousness. He pulled away the phone. 

 

“Who is this. Speak or I’ll chuck this phone down your throat.” 

 

“Virgil?!”

 

[Oh, you know me very well Virgil. Or should I say Anxiety? Say, how’s that friend of yours healing up?]

 

Virgil froze, the phone clenched in his fist. “Well hello to you too Mad. I know you don’t care about him.” Dee had gone very white at that statement, the scales on his face giving off a sickly hue and his yellow eye widening. 

 

Thomas held up his hands. “Woah, woah! What’s going on?” Patton had moved over to Deceit and had draped his blanket over the figure, who was still frozen at the thought of Mad. “Virgil?”

 

Virgil ended the call and threw the phone into the couch, starting to pace. Logan moved over slightly towards Deceit and pat the top of his head a few times, the hat getting in the way slightly. Roman looked over at Virgil with concern. 

 

“Was that-”

 

Virgil nodded as he paced faster, Thomas growing more and more confused and freaked out. 

 

“What is going on?! Who is Mad? The name seems familiar but-” 

 

“Mad. Full name Madpat. Matpat’s alter ego and Mad Scientist of the Void, hence the nickname coincidentally based on his name. He experimented on Deceit a couple of years back.” Logan supplied.

 

“What?!” 

 

Patton rubbed Deceit’s back. “Do you mind if I tell the story kiddo?” Dee made a motion for him to go ahead. Patton ruffled the man’s hair and turned around to face Thomas more. “Okay, here goes. Deceit hasn’t always looked like this. He used to just wear a mask like the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera on half of his face.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“I have to say, you could still rock that look.” Dee glared at Roman and he fell silent. Patton cleared his throat. 

 

“We were at a Void-wide Christmas Party a couple years back. I think it was… eh, who knows. Time is meaningless there. Anyway, Mad and Deceit started talking. Deceit knew a bit about him, but he hadn’t always been so… crazy. Am I telling this right kiddo? I’ve only heard your side of the story once and that was a while ago. I don’t want to tell it wrong.” 

 

“I could tell it if you wish. I know you get emotional about these things Patton.” Patton looked at Logan in relief. 

 

“Oh, could you? I mean, if Dee says it’s okay-” 

 

“It’s not fine.” 

 

Logan nodded and cleared his throat. “Okay. Here it goes.” 

 

He began. 

 

“It started at a Christmas party. Oh, the Host would be much better at this. Anyway, Christmas party. I’m keeping this short and sweet to preserve Deceit’s dignity. They met basically for the first time at the party. They got to chatting about animals, and, subsequently, snakes. They both had a fascination for the creatures, and they had what we thought was a fine time talking about it. 

 

A few days later Deceit went missing. That was usual behavior for him, so we went looking. A few days later we found him in Madpat’s lab, face covered in bandages and unable to speak. He- he messed with him Psychologically so he ended up speaking backwards most of the time, physically so his face became snakelike- I’d really rather not continue.” 

 

“That- that’s okay. I’m…. I’m good. Don’t need to know any more.” Thomas felt slightly nauseous as he saw Deceit curled up in the blanket, Patton rubbing his shoulder and murmuring in his ear. “Deceit- I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s not fine.”

 

“No, it’s not fine! I was a jerk to you for no reason when you appeared! If I’d known-” 

 

“It’s not fine. I’m not used to it.” 

 

“And that’s not good either! Have you told them you speak backwards?!”

 

Deceit just gave him a droll stare. “I speak forwards.” Ah, that would be a problem. 

 

“We’ve tried helping, but only the Sectics and Ipliers really understand. The others… not all of them get it. Mad’d been… tame until that point. Nobody believed he’d done anything like that. More and more people are coming around.”

 

“Well that’s something I guess. I’m still sorry.” 

 

“Don’t say sorry and help me kill that bastard!” Dee’s voice broke and he put his head in his arms. Thomas was stunned. Patton nodded to Logan who took out a journal and wrote something in it. 

 

“I have a feeling a lot of people are waiting for that, but good luck.” 

 

“Aww, how much you say you hate me is so heartwarming.” Mad was leaning on the counter with a smile on his face. “You know, it really puts things into perspective.” He walked around the corner and did a theatrical twirl. “You find out how much you’ve done in life.” He walked a couple of steps closer as they scurried back. “You find out what barriers you’ve broken for curiosity.” His gaze swept over Deceit, who fought back a squeak. “And you find out what enemies you have.” He stepped forwards-

 

And a blur of purple tackled him, landing on his chest with his hands dancing above the scientist’s ears. The man fell asleep and the figure got up with a smile. “I’ve wanted to tackle you for way too long.” A group of glitches appeared and a scratchy voice spoke as well. 

 

“D̸a̵m̵n̴.̷ ̷Y̶o̷u̴ ̶g̴o̶t̸ ̸t̷o̸ ̷h̶i̴m̷ ̶b̵e̸f̴o̸r̴e̵ ̴m̴e̷.̶”

 

“What the hell?!” Virgil had positioned himself in front of the others, Roman with a sword to his left. Logan stepped around and closer, ignoring Thomas’s cries of ‘Be careful!’ 

 

“The rapid eye movement is an indication of what seems to be instantaneous REM sleep. Impressive job.” 

 

“Kinda my thing.”

 

“Hon, I’m the sleep guy, not you.” Classic Remy.

 

Mare gave a signature-looking smile. “You may be the sleep guy, but I’m the dreams guy. Now shh and watch it work.”

 

“Can they experience symptoms of Sleep Behavior Disorder or-” Mad twitched, causing Logan to hum in fascination. “Interesting….” 

 

“Yeah, only a few people I’ve done this to have done this.”

 

“That sort of thing only affects about 1% of people, so I’m rather impressed you’ve come across it at all.” He looked down at Mad, who twitched again, hands going up to cover his ears. “This one in particular. That suggests all sorts of hypothesis…” 

 

“Woah there Aristotle. Let’s let them deal with him, shall we?” 

 

“Go.” Deceit stepped out from behind them and walked towards them with what seemed to be fear mixed with contempt on his face. He looked over at Mad. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a file that looked way too large to have been able to fit into the space. Logan looked ready to say something about the logistics of that situation but managed to stay silent. “Don’t read this if you want to not give appropriate justice. Don’t kill him for me, will ya?” Anti flashed him a grin as he grabbed the file. 

 

“S̵a̴y̵ ̴S̶a̶n̵d̵e̷r̶s̷,̷ ̴I̶ ̸d̸i̵d̴n̴’̵t̶ ̶k̶n̸o̷w̴ ̷y̵a̴ ̶h̴a̸d̷ ̴i̶t̵ ̶i̴n̵ ̵y̶a̵.̷”

 

“I didn’t get this face from somewhere.” He nodded to the men and they disappeared with the scientist. Dee immediately let out a massive breath, the tension going out of his shoulder. “Thank god that isn’t over.”

 

“Agreed. So, back to Steven Universe?” 

 

“No!” Dee had a grin on his face as he settled back on the floor and they went back to the couch. 

 

It had been a long day. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Deceit got a backstory. This was where it was originally going to end but I needed to wrap it up better.


	6. Chapter 6

Phantom watched as Mat and Steph got their kid back. He nodded to Mare, who gave a grin and disappeared back into the Void through his Dreamscape.

 

He had gotten in contact through Nate’s phone t ~~ hat he still had to return ~~ that the Ipliers had returned to the Void. the Septics had gone with them, as apparently they lived close to each other.

 

Blank had gotten some of his more immediate repairs done just in time for Dark to whisk him off to the Googles and Bing for some much-needed upgrades.

 

The Sanders had gotten Thomas’s phone number so they could get together more often to work on videos and watch cartoons, which would make videos easier and faster to make. They were currently working something out with Dark to make a way for them to get there. 

 

Mare and Anti had a project to work on, so he figured they were out of the way for a while, especially after they’d read a file on all of the experiments he’s done and gotten some… ideas. 

 

Phantom was searching for something to do. He could only stay in his cane for so long, and he hadn’t had any deals to make for ages. 

 

He felt a tug as his cane teleported him somewhere. He looked around. This was rather bleak… 

 

The room was pitch-black, the only light a globe of light that floated near the ceiling. A figure was lying on the floor. He moved closer to see his client. The man flopped over in his sleep and he jumped back. It was Mad. He put his book back in his pocket with a sigh. There was no way he’d help that one. He straightened his collar and disappeared. 

 

Anti came into the room, holding a file. 

 

"̶W̵a̷k̸e̸y̶ ̶w̶a̷k̸e̴y̶ ̸e̴g̶g̴s̵ ̸a̶n̶d̵ ̷b̴a̸k̷e̵y̸!̴"̵

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finished! I supposed I could have wrapped it up better, but I couldn't really thing of a better way. I wrote this in like two days, so I don't know if it's really that good on a thing, but I was in the mood to procrastinate so I figured I'd post this. I hope you at least didn't hate it, even if it was much darker than anything I've done, and that you all have a great day! Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Have a great day!


End file.
